JPH0429428Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a light-intensity-responsive condensing device, and in particular, the light intensity of the sensor can be changed by using it in combination with a light-responsive sensor that generates a constant voltage in response to changes in light intensity. This improves the sensitivity of the sensor to ensure reliable operation of devices using the sensor, such as onomatopoeia generators used in flush toilets, so that the device responds sensitively to even slight changes in light intensity within the toilet. The present invention relates to a light-condensing device for light intensity reaction that operates to generate onomatopoeic sounds.

A light-responsive sensor is used in the onomatopoeia generator used for water saving purposes in flush toilets, which generates a certain voltage in response to changes in the light intensity inside the toilet, and this voltage operates the onomatopoeia generator. Generate onomatopoeic sounds. However, when the light intensity inside the toilet is low, the light intensity response sensor cannot detect the weak light intensity changes, and as a result, the onomatopoeia generator often does not work and does not serve its purpose. This is an issue that deeply affects people's interests.

Further, Japanese Patent Publication No. 54-32341 discloses a wide-angle photoelectric detection device, but this conventional example has two convex lenses in front of a conical condenser, that is, a condenser lens (symbol L
2) and an objective lens (symbol L1) were added to obtain a focusing range of only 30 degrees, and these two convex lenses were quite expensive, increasing the cost of the focusing device. The drawback was that it was expensive. Furthermore, if the light collection range was only 30 degrees, it would be impossible to use the device of the present invention as an onomatopoeic sound generating device for a toilet.

The present invention was made in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art described above, and its purpose is to use an onomatopoeic sound generating device, especially a combination of this device with a light intensity responsive sensor, to provide a wide field of view and to detect light intensity at a distance. It is an object of the present invention to provide a light intensity-responsive light condensing device capable of sensing changes in light intensity, and to ensure the operation of an onomatopoeic sound generating device by increasing the sensitivity of the sensor to light intensity changes by using the light intensity-reactive light focusing device. Therefore, the device should be able to react and operate sensitively even to slight changes in light intensity inside the flush toilet. Another purpose is to improve the sensitivity of the onomatopoeic sound generator by using a highly sensitive light-reactive condensing device, so that the onomatopoeic sound generator can be used in flush toilets in general without being affected by the size of the space inside the toilet. The goal is to make it usable in all areas. Another purpose is to obtain the above-mentioned photoresponse characteristics so that the onomatopoeic sound generator can be installed at any position in the toilet, regardless of the structure of the toilet, for example, whether it is Western-style or Japanese-style. The goal is to be able to do so. Another object of the present invention is to ensure that the onomatopoeic sound generating device operates by changing the brightness of natural light even if there is no lighting lamp in the toilet. Furthermore, another purpose is to use the light-responsive condensing device not only in an onomatopoeic sound generating device used in a flush toilet, but also in other devices using a light-response sensor, such as an alarm device, a notification device that notifies the presence of a visitor, etc. The objective is to improve the functionality of these devices by ensuring that they respond to even the slightest changes in light intensity.

In short, the present invention provides a device that is used in combination with a light intensity responsive sensor that generates a voltage in response to changes in light intensity, including a light collecting head with a circular cross section, and a light collecting head that collects light that is received by the light collecting head. It is integrally formed with a light pipe portion having a circular cross section that guides the light intensity reaction sensor, and the light pipe portion is formed in a tapered shape so as to gradually become thinner from the light collecting head toward the light intensity reaction sensor, The light condensing head has a taper part formed at an angle of about 45 degrees with respect to the axial direction so as to gradually become thinner in the opposite direction to the light pipe part.
It is characterized by being configured so that a maximum light focusing range of 140 degrees can be obtained.

The present invention will be explained below based on embodiments shown in the drawings. In FIG. 1, a flush toilet 1 is a private room and is normally used by opening and closing the door 2.
Inside the toilet 1, there is a toilet bowl 4 equipped with a water storage tank 3, and after use, the toilet user U operates a manual lever 5 provided on the water storage tank to flush out excrement. Toilet wall surface 6 facing door 2
As shown in the figure, an illumination lamp 7 is attached to the upper part of the wall, and an onomatopoeic sound generator 1 is attached to the lower part of the wall.
0 is attached. As shown in FIG. 3, the onomatopoeia generator 10 is housed in a box-shaped container 10a, and a support 13 is attached to the upper part of the rear wall 10c of the container, and a photoresponse sensor 8 is attached to the support. is provided. Further, a control unit 14 is attached to the rear wall 10c below the photoresponse sensor, and a speaker 9 is attached to the front wall 10b of the container 10.
It is located at the bottom of the . Furthermore, a light intensity reaction condensing lens 15 is provided to improve the sensitivity of the light intensity reaction sensor 8. That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the light intensity reaction condensing lens 15 has a condensing head 15
a and a coaxial light pipe part 15b which is a shaft part for guiding the light received by this head, and the light pipe part extends from the front joint end 15e with the light collecting head 15a to its rear end. The head 15a is cylindrical, and its front end is approximately 45 mm in diameter in the axial direction so as to gradually become thinner toward the light pipe portion 15f. It is composed of a tapered surface 15c and a flat front surface 15d that is perpendicular to the axial direction. This condensing lens 15 is made of transparent acrylic resin to obtain precision and strength, and is attached with the head 15a protruding above the front surface 10b of the container 10a, and the light pipe portion 15b is connected to the light intensity reaction sensor 8. are in contact. Further, as shown in FIG.
, an electronic fixed storage device 22, an electronic temporary storage device 23, and a digital-to-analog conversion device 24, which are electrically connected to the photoresponse sensor 8 and the speaker 9, respectively. As shown in FIG. 1, this onomatopoeia generating device 10 has a power cord
1 is connected to a power source 12. The scale selection device 20 has a plurality of scale selection signals, each of which has its own selection switch S ₁ , S ₂ .
This can be selectively specified by operating S _o , and the scales of various onomatopoeias, such as the sound of running water, the sound of a babbling stream, and the cry of birds, can be arbitrarily selected. The electronic fixed storage device 22 is ROM (READ ONLY MEMORY)
It stores a plurality of binary scale control data for generating onomatopoeia. The central processing unit 21 receives the specified scale selection signal from the scale selection device 20 and selectively organizes the scale control data in the electronic fixed storage device 22 according to a predetermined program. The electronic temporary storage device 23 is RAM (RANDOM ACCESS
MEMORY), which temporarily stores the contents of the organized program. The central processing unit 21, the electronic fixed storage device 22, and the electronic temporary storage device 23 constitute a microcomputer. As shown in Fig. 1, when the door 2 of the toilet 1 is closed, the incident light A of the lamp 7 is reflected by the door 2 at a certain angle, and the reflected light A' It corresponds to the light intensity reaction condensing lens 15 of the generator 10. Therefore, the reflected light A' is usually converged by the condenser lens,
The light intensity reaction sensor 8 receives this convergent light. Next, when toilet user U opens door 2, the reflected light
A' is unspecified regarding the condensing lens 15,
That is, the luminous intensity inside the toilet 1 changes. The sensor 8 detects this change in light intensity, and maintains the onomatopoeic sound generating device 10 at a predetermined potential for a predetermined time, during which time the device is operated. The above relationship between the lamp 7 and the condensing lens 15 is a simple example;
In the present invention, the lamp is not used, and it is clear that even natural light is converged by the condenser lens 15 onto the sensor 8. In short, the configuration is such that the sensor 8 only needs to sense changes in luminous intensity or brightness within the toilet 1 via the condensing lens 15. As for the size of the light-intensity reaction condensing lens 15, the following dimensions can be presented as an example.

Diameter of head 15a: 10.5 mm Thickness of head 15a: 3.4 mm Angle of tapered portion 15c: 45° Thickness of tapered portion 15c: 2 mm Diameter of head front surface 15d: 7 mm Length of light pipe portion 15b: 21.3 mm Front end of light pipe portion 15e The relationship between the condenser lens 15 with a diameter of 5.6 mm and a taper angle of 3.4 mm or more at the rear end 15b of the light pipe portion and the photointensity response sensor 8 was measured in the bathrooms of ordinary homes and offices based on this example. .

Measurement conditions Temperature: 12℃ Humidity: 88% Light source used: 10W Horizontal illuminance: 15lux Moving object color: Black (area 19.6cm ² ) Under the above measurement conditions, the moving object color was determined by the toilet door 2
If you move the condenser lens 15 nearby in the vertical Z direction and horizontal Y direction, it will move approximately 81 cm from the position of the condenser lens 15 in the vertical Z direction and approximately 81 cm from the position of the condenser lens 15 in the horizontal Y direction. It has been found that within the range, the light intensity responsive sensor 8 detects the movement of the color of the moving object, that is, reacts to the change in the light intensity within the toilet 1, operates the onomatopoeic sound generating device 10, and generates an onomatopoeic sound. Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the condensing lens 15 has a tapered portion 15c that condenses light in a range indicated by diagonal lines F ₂ and F ₃ , and a front surface of the head.
The range where 5d condenses is the range indicated by the diagonal line _F1 ,
Since the angle of the tapered portion 15c is 45 degrees, the maximum light focusing range of the lens 15 is about 140 degrees.

The present invention is constructed as described above, and its operation will be explained below. In FIG. 1, when there is no user U in the toilet 1, the reflected light A' of the lamp 7 is reflected by the onomatopoeic sound generator 1 as shown by the imaginary line.
0 condenser lens 15. To explain this state in detail with reference to FIG. 2, the light L ₁ that enters the tapered portion 15 c formed on the head 15 a of the condenser lens 15 from above at an incident angle i ₁ is refracted within the acrylic resin. The light propagates at a refraction angle r ₁ and enters the inside of the lower outer surface 15g of the tapered light pipe portion 15b at an incident angle i ₂ . When light tries to travel from a dense substance (acrylic resin) to a sparse substance (air),
When the angle of incidence exceeds a certain angle, the light does not exit the sparse material but is reflected within the dense material. That is, the light L ₁ is totally reflected from the inner side of the lower outer surface 15g at a reflection angle r ₂ (r ₂ =i ₂ ) and is incident on the inner side of the upper outer surface 15h at an incident angle i ₃ . Then, it is totally reflected again at the reflection angle r ₃ (r ₃ =i ₃ ) and travels inside the lower outer surface 15g. light like this
L ₁ undergoes repeated total reflection within the tapered light pipe 15b and is converged at the rear end 15f, and the thus converged light reaches the photointensity reaction sensor 8. Further, the light L ₂ incident from the front surface 15d of the condensing head 15a of the condensing lens 15 is not refracted, but travels straight through the lens along the axis of the light pipe portion 15b to reach the photointensity reaction sensor 8.

In the above situation, when the toilet user U opens the door 2 of the toilet 1 in FIG. 1, the reflected light from the lamp 7
A' becomes unspecified with respect to the condensing lens 15, that is, the luminous intensity inside the toilet 1 changes, and this change in luminous intensity immediately becomes a luminous intensity change within the condensing lens 15, and in FIG. reacts and generates a predetermined voltage to operate the scale selection device 20, which generates a preselected scale selection signal. The central processing unit 21 operates upon receiving the scale selection signal, selectively organizes the scale control data of the electronic fixed storage device 22 according to a scheduled program, and temporarily stores the program contents in the electronic temporary storage device 23. Make me remember. Then, based on this program, the central processing unit 21 continuously reads scale control data from the electronic fixed storage device 22 at the timing of a transmitter or the like (not shown). The digital-to-analog converter 24 receives these binary scale control data, converts it into a voltage, amplifies it, and outputs it from the speaker 9 as an onomatopoeia of the planned scale. After a certain period of time, this onomatopoeia generator 10
The potential disappears, and the onomatopoeic sound generation operation stops. In FIG. 1, the light A-A' of the lamp 7 while toilet user U is using the toilet is as shown by the solid line, and it is assumed that the generation of onomatopoeia has already stopped at this time. However, the need for further onomatopoeic generation may arise. In this case, when the toilet user U moves his arm or a part of his body or makes any other movement, the condenser lens 15 transmits the change in the light intensity inside the toilet to the light intensity response sensor 8, that is, the change in the light intensity inside the toilet is This immediately results in a change in the convergent luminous intensity within the condensing lens 15, which is detected by the sensor 8, and the onomatopoeia generator is operated again to generate an onomatopoeia. In this embodiment, the lamp 7 is used as a light source, but even if the lamp 7 is not used, even natural light can cause changes in the luminous intensity of the condenser lens.
Needless to say, it is reliably sensed by the sensor 8 via the sensor 5.

In this way, by using the onomatopoeic sound generating device 10 using the photoresponse sensor 8 and increasing the sensitivity of the sensor by using the condensing lens 15 and using this device in a flush toilet, it is possible to generate this sound by simply opening the door 2. Since the device operates reliably and generates onomatopoeic sounds, such as the sound of running water, the toilet user U realizes that there is no need to flush water simply to muffle the sound of defecation, and does not flush water unnecessarily.

Note that in this embodiment, the light intensity reaction condensing lens 15
Although the condenser lens 15 is applied to an onomatopoeic sound generating device used in a flush toilet, it can be used not only in this onomatopoeic sound generating device, but also in other devices, such as a crime prevention alarm device or a notification device to notify the presence of a visitor. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to increase the sensitivity of the photoresponsive sensors of these devices and make these devices more reliable. In this case, the light-intensity-responsive condensing lens 15 and the light-intensity-responsive sensor 8 may be combined and installed near the entrance and electrically connected to an indoor alarm device or visitor notification device.

Since the present invention is configured and operates as described above, it is possible to provide a light collecting device for photointensity reaction that has a wide field of view and has the property of sensing even changes in light intensity at a distance. Therefore, by using the photointensity-responsive condensing lens of the present invention in combination with the photointensity-responsive sensor of the onomatopoeic sound generator, the sensitivity of the sensor to changes in light intensity can be increased over a wide area, and the operation of the onomatopoeia generator can be ensured. Therefore, it is possible to obtain the effect that the device can respond sensitively to even a weak change in light intensity inside a flush toilet and generate an onomatopoeic sound. Furthermore, the sensitivity of the onomatopoeic sound generator has been improved by using the light-responsive condensing lens, so the device can be used in all public toilets, regardless of the size of the space inside the toilet. It will be done. Furthermore, since the light intensity response characteristics of the light intensity response sensor are greatly improved, this onomatopoeic sound generating device can be installed at any desired position in the toilet, resulting in the effect that restrictions on the mounting position are greatly reduced. Further, even if there is no lighting lamp in the toilet, the effect is that the onomatopoeic sound generating device operates reliably due to changes in the brightness of natural light. Furthermore, the light-responsive condensing lens can be used not only in onomatopoeia generators used in flush toilets, but also in crime prevention alarm systems that use light-responsive sensors, notification devices that notify the presence of visitors, etc. This is a practically valuable invention, as it has the effect of improving the functionality of the system.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings relate to embodiments of the present invention; Fig. 1 is a partial cross-sectional side view showing a flush toilet equipped with the present invention in use, Fig. 2 is a side view of a light-responsive condensing lens, and Fig. 3 is a side view of a flush toilet equipped with the present invention. FIG. 4 is an enlarged partial cross-sectional side view showing a combination of a light-reactive condensing lens and an onomatopoeia generator, and FIG. 4 is a block circuit diagram of the onomatopoeia generator. 8 is a photoresponse sensor, 10 is an onomatopoeia generator, 1
5 is a condensing lens for photointensity reaction, 15a is a condensing head of the lens, 15b is a light pipe part of the lens,
15c is the tapered part of the condensing head, 15g and 15
h is a tapered surface of the light pipe section.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A device used in combination with a light intensity responsive sensor that generates a voltage in response to changes in light intensity, including a light collecting head with a circular cross section and guiding light received by the light collecting head to the light intensity responsive sensor. and a light pipe portion having a circular cross section, the light pipe portion being formed in a tapered shape so as to gradually become thinner from the light collecting head toward the light intensity reaction sensor,
The light condensing head has a tapered part of about 45 degrees with respect to the axial direction so as to gradually become thinner in the opposite direction to the light pipe part, so that a maximum light condensing range of about 140 degrees can be obtained. A light condensing device for photometric reaction characterized by comprising: